Casting has been announced for Moonfleet, a new British musical based on the novel by J Meade Falkner, to be staged by Salisbury Playhouse.
Earl Carpenter (Les Miserables; The Phantom of the Opera; Sunset Boulevard) plays Maskew with Ryan Heenan (Grease, UK tour; Sweeney Todd, Derby Theatre) as John and Ashley Mercer (English Touring Opera) as Blackbeard.
The cast also includes Simon Butteriss (My Fair Lady, Théâtre du Châtelet; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ENO), Dom Hartley-Harris (Bat Out of Hell The Musical, London Coliseum; Tiger Bay, Wales Millennium Centre), Rebecca Lock (Mamma Mia!; Mary Poppins), Rhona McGregor (Oliver!, Watermill Theatre; The Addams Family UK tour), Dan Smith (Worst Wedding Ever & Little Robin Redbreast, Salisbury Playhouse), Ruth Betteridge (Dick Whittington, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham) and Susannah Van Den Berg (Alice in Winterland, Rose Theatre Kingston; Sister Act, UK tour).
Set amongst the cliffs, caves and downs of 18th century Dorset, Moonfleet is the story of a young man’s search for adventure and fulfilment. Haunted by the ghost of the marauding pirate Blackbeard, Moonfleet is a village of intrigue and drama where shadowy smugglers lurk. Against this backdrop, young orphan John Trenchard dreams of Blackbeard’s long-lost treasure and the wealth and happiness it could bring.
Original music is by Russell Hepplewhite with book and lyrics by Salisbury Playhouse Artistic Director Gareth Machin who also directs. Movement Direction is by Kate Flatt (original musical staging, Les Miserables), set and costume design is by Tom Rogers (Big Fish, The Other Palace; Echo’s End, Salisbury Playhouse), lighting design is by Tim Lutkin (Chimerica, Almeida/West End), sound design is by Yvonne Gilbert (Murder, Margaret and Me, Salisbury Playhouse) and Musical Direction is by Michael Haslam (Matthew Bourne’s Play Without Words).
Moonfleet runs at Salisbury Playhouse from Thursday 19 April to Saturday 5 May. The production is supported by Salisbury Playhouse’s Commissioning Circle.
